Local News: 1/8/2000

Glitch ditches license testing

By Gretchen Cleland, The Hawk Eye

A computer problem that has kept many southeast Iowa county treasurers from being able to issue driver's licenses should be solved by Monday.

A new system of issuing licenses should have been up and running in 42 Iowa counties as of Jan. 1. The Iowa Legislature pushed to have county treasurers issue licenses in rural counties to provide more accessible service to the public.

Traveling teams of DOT employees had issued driver's licenses to these counties in the past.

The problem has been that different counties have different kinds of computers and required system upgrades to make the software work properly, said Shirley Andre, director of the motor vehicle division of the DOT.

Polaroid Corp., the vendor for the driver's licenses program, and Iowa DOT employees have been overseeing the upgrades.

On Friday, only four of the original 21 counties that were not online earlier in the week were still reporting problems.

Harrison, Decatur, Wright and the north Lee County office are still not operative. South Lee County is operational.

Corrective software has been sent to the remaining four counties and they should be open on Monday, Andre said. In case they are not, however, DOT teams will be sent to those counties to issue licenses offline.

The new issuing stations will not be limited to one or two activities, Andre said. They will be able to issue renewals, IDs and give chauffer's driving tests.

Source: The Hawk Eye, Burlington, Iowa

http://206.155.91.60/thehawkeye.com/webmorgue/2000/1/ln08015.htm

-- Lee Maloney (leemaloney@hotmail.com), January 22, 2000

Answers

Update on Harrison County which became "inoperative," as stated in the article above... the county denies their computer failure is Y2k related.

Harrison County treasurer's office offers drivers licenses

January 19, 2000, B.J. BALM, Staff Writer

LOGAN - It just became a little more convenient for Harrison County residents to get a drivers license.

The county treasurer's office was one of 42 in the state to start offering this service to county residents.

This brings the total number of counties offering the service to 48. They include the six counties that participated in a pilot program, which started about six years ago.

"We're hearing some very good comments from customers," said Vicki Argotsinger, Harrison County treasurer.

Customers stopping at the office can now take written exams and driving tests at the drivers license station in the courthouse and can also renew licenses and pick up handicapped parking placards. "We give the same service the state Department of Transportation used to deliver," Argotsinger explained.

The service, initially slated to begin Jan. 3, ran into an unexpected delay when a software glitch developed.

"It was not Y2K-related," Argotsinger said.

The problem was that the DOT software could not interface with the county's main frame computer system. This caused a one-week delay. The DOT furnishes all the equipment for issuing drivers licenses, including a vision tester, a computer terminal, a camera with a blue screen, a laminating machine and a desktop printer to run reports at the end of the day.

By the middle of last week, staff members were issuing licenses off- line, and a DOT representative arrived to help smooth out the remaining roadblocks.

Treasurers' offices in two other counties, Taylor and Wright, were facing similar problems with their systems. Initially, 17 of the 42 new counties experienced problems.

"It just makes sense for the treasurer's office to offer the service," Argotsinger said.

It allows visitors at the courthouse to renew licenses and vehicle registrations at the same time, since motor vehicle renewals are tied to birth months.

Plus, just a few steps away, property taxes can also be paid or copies of birth certificates, marriage licenses and other documents can be picked up.

Previously, DOT personnel visited office sites in Logan every Thursday and were in Missouri Valley on the third Friday of each month.

Business is expected to be brisk.

According to DOT statistics, the DOT workers had served about 40 people every Thursday. In addition, people might have gone to another site to get their drivers licenses.

Motor vehicle registrations are renewed every year. Drivers licenses can be issued for two or four years.

At the beginning of last week, members of the public didn't realize that the Harrison County drivers license station at the courthouse was ready for business, Argotsinger said.

But by last Tuesday, 16 people had visited the site, and six people stopped in by noon last Wednesday.

The increase in work prompted the county to hire an additional full- time worker for Argotsinger's office. Jane LeFever's duties include issuing drivers licenses.

LeFever and Argotsinger completed an intensive eight-week training course, attending sessions in Council Bluffs, Ames, Cedar Rapids, Des Moines, Sioux City and Audubon.

The treasurer is allowed to cross-train one other person on her staff to issue drivers licenses.

Argotsinger is asking people who know they have to take a driving test to call ahead of time and, if possible, schedule it on a Thursday. That makes it easier to fit in with the regular daily routine, However, tests can be given on other days as well, she added.

The drivers license station is taking up half of the space shared by the treasurer's and auditor's offices.

Office hours are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday.

The change is a welcome one, especially for older residents, Argotsinger said.

"We maybe offer a more personal stop for them, as we know just about everybody in the county," Argotsinger said.

The Daily Nonpareil; Council Bluffs, Iowa

Archive article 114488_sport7.txt

-- Lee Maloney (leemaloney@hotmail.com), January 23, 2000.